Information High
by Zerofoxie
Summary: (L, AC) The Complete Edition - Raine reappears out of thin air, it seems, and brings with her a tragedy waiting to strike... Old friends, new threats, innocence forever lost. But...what is the Information High?
1. "Storm"

He ran out of there as fast as he could. He ran until his legs hurt, his lungs burned, his eyes flooded with either sweat or tears, he didn't know which and didn't care. He didn't even know where he was running to. All he knew was that he was going there, and making good time.

Squall Leonhart. Hardly even a man, it seemed, until the warmth of one woman's heart entered his own. He wasn't even given the simple names of who brought him into this world, who his parents were, who's name he had received at birth and lived with ever since. Squall Leonhart. Orphaned at a young age, predestined to be raised by a woman who would one day be a sorceress, brought up with those who fate would reunite years later to destroy that woman, their 'enemy'....

He had never been so scared in his life, except for when he was a child. The day They took Ellone away from him, he was angry, sad, confused...but in reality, he was scared....

"Heeey Squallly..."

"Whaaat Seifer?"

"Why are yoo crying?"

"Sis weft uss. Dey took her awaay from mee. I mish her."

"Don't be such a baby. Quit cwyiing, yoo baaybeee!" the blond boy laughed heartily.

"Shaddup, yoo MEANIE!!"

...He collapsed beneath a tree some distance from Esthar, and looked out across the desert set before him.

Desert.

Just like after they defeated the sorceress.

Just like the place he couldn't seem to escape from.

Just like the place where She came to be with him.

But She couldn't be with him now. She didn't even know he ventured to that place, to meet with Him. To be force-fed a slice of reality that turned bitter and acidic in his stomach..

His Father.

Him.

Laguna..?

The sour truth finally gnawed through his defensive wall. He coughed, leaned over, and vomited.

Squall spat onto the ground. When the acid taste finally began to leave his mouth, he leaned back against the tree and continued to look across the desert. He felt uneasy about returning to Garden. It was late, so everyone would be asking him where he had run off to, and why he was pale as new fallen snow and shaking like a leaf. He could lie to them....but he would have to tell the truth to Headmaster Cid. Even Edea would be concerned about him, and would not let him rest until he told her what was going on. He probably wouldn't even get away from Rinoa. Her eyes would pierce into his soul, causing even more agony until he told the painful truth...

Dizziness set in. He closed his eyes, and rested his full weight against the tree he was propped up against. The things that led up to that moment finally came together in his mind, swirling and melting together in an ugly, beautiful truth.

Ragnarok.

Laguna said he would like to talk to Squall after it was all over.

Kiros said he looked like his mother.

Ward said it was a good thing he didn't look like his father.

..Now he knew why.

His mother was dead. His father used to be an idiot in search of a village. Raine Leonhart..Laguna Loire...

His father was at war when he was born. He was sent to an orphanage with Ellone shortly after Raine died. He wasn't even old enough to remember what his mother looked like before he was so abruptly taken away, or to understand why he grew up in an orphanage. All he had known was that Ellone was his big sister, and they lived under the care of Matron Edea. That was all. And now he wished that he hadn't been told, that it was better to live a lie than to life with this new life...

As a child, he had no parents. And now he did?

His exhausted thoughts gave way to dreams as a light, misty rain began to fall.

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She looked out her dorm window. Across the foliage, far to the east, gray storm clouds were building.

She sighed and shook her head. "A storm? Now? ...This is unseasonable."

She continued to scan the horizon, her crystal blue eyes occasionally darting left or right to change her field of view. Her half-conscious thoughts still urged her to return to the party, to rejoin the others and celebrate their Grand Victory over Sorceress Ultimecia. But...why would they want to be around her? They were bust doing their own thing: Zell was inhaling hot dogs next to that Amie girl, Selphie was absorbed in her search for "Sir Laguna" while swatting away Irvine, Seifer was nowhere to be seen and presumed dead after siding with the Sorceress, Squall and Rinoa--she knew they were still on that balcony, their arms interlaced in some lovers' embrace..

She laid back on her bed and sighed, entertaining the thought a while longer. She could only dream about finding a love like theirs. It seemed that the only ones who had any feelings for her were those bothersome Trepies that worshiped everything she said, did, wore, ate...but even that wasn't love. She also felt as though she still had to restrain her feelings about people, even after resigning as an instructor, because of those Trepies. She had to be a good role model, so she certainly couldn't be walking around like Those Two through a crowd of hostile Trepies.

It was more than the Trepies, though. All her life, she felt that she had to restrain her own emotions. She had to be grown-up, mature, even during the most difficult of times. There was a time when even Squall went o her to find stability when everything seemed to turn upside-down. The day they took Ellone away, everyone else either cried or teased those who were crying. Lo, Quisty still had the strength and kindness to calm the shaken Squall.

A slight knock on her door brought her back to the present, and made her tense up in surprise. She sat up on her bed. "Come in!" she called as she smoothed down her golden locks.

The door opened. "..Instructor?"

"Sei...Seifer?"

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"Why did he...run?" Laguna asked himself aloud.

He sat at his desk and shook his head, looking out a window at the storm clouds. "Hm. Strange thing, this rain. Figures."

"Uncle Laaguuunaa~~!" a voice called from beyond his office.

"Ellone, in here!"

A door opened and a smiling faced poked into the room. "I should have figured you'd be in here. It's only your office, after all." She entered, and looked around the large room. "Where's Squall?"

"He...left, Ellone," Laguna answered without averting his icy, concrete gaze from the window.

"Aw, you didn't bore him to death with one of your stories, did you?!" Ellone leered at him.

"No, I told him. About Raine and myself. I guess he couldn't take it...Not now, so soon after the whole Ultimecia situation."

"So I see." Ellone nodded, and glanced out the same window as Laguna. Her skin suddenly flushed as her temperature dropped. Sweat began to collect at her hairline. She let out a slight moan as a sharp pain hit her abdomen.

Laguna turned to the girl and stood, rushing to her side when he noted her sudden change in pallor. "Elle..?! Are you--"

"It...it's nothing. Just a bad feeling, that's all. Maybe it has something to do with Squall?"

"Do you think...Do you think something happened to him?!?!" Laguna now turned pale and began to sweat.

"I...I don't know. I should go after him, just to be certain he's okay. Just to put our minds at ease..."

Laguna nodded. "I'll send Ward and Kiros with you for protection. If you even begin to feel threatened, even the tiniest bit, get back here ASAP, understand?!"

"Sure. Um, I'll go get Ward and Kiros. I saw them on my way in. I promise not to be out long, okay?"

Laguna nodded solemnly. Ellone had a knack for sensing things...but he couldn't just send out an entire army in search for someone because of a feeling...Her sudden reaction may not have been because of Squall after all, so he had to let her go. He had to let time tick by.

Ellone gave him a reassuring smile to let him know she'd hurry back. She turned, and left the room.

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AuthorNotes:

Chapter one is done YAY!! A start to a new fic ^_^ Eh, I don't care what people may say: FF8 may not be the newest thing, but IMHO it still kicks ass. And my friends agree. For I have heard NOTHING but bad reviews of FF9 by them. So I am still loyal to VIII =D Erm, don't forget to visit a site for me: http://bored_otaku.tripod.com/cosplay/ It's my friend and I's CosPlay site. Hehe we're preparing for our first Expo (AX2k1), and guess who I'm CosPlaying as? ...Rinoa XD Whoohoo!! Well, not many pics there yet, but I'll change that...eventually ^^V Thanks for reading, and I'll add more as time goes by ^_~ I promise!!


	2. "Tell me"

"I can't believe you're--"

"..Alive?" Seifer snickered and shook his head. "You know I'm tougher than that. Fujin and Raijin are here as well. We'd like to become SeeDs."

Quistis held back a chuckle, and forced her facial features to remain blank. "SeeDs? After your betrayal of this Garden AND SeeDs, you dare to show your face here again? The nerve of you, Seifer. You know you're going to have to see Headmaster Cid immediately, so let's go see--"

"I already talked to him. And Matron. They said that it wasn't my fault, that the sorceress took advantage of me."

"Psch. I still think you did everything on your own, and without any aid from Edea's or Ultimecia's sorcery." Quistis stood, and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, pulling him to eye level. "Tell me what really happened out there. TELL ME what made you betray Garden, betray ALL of us!!"

Seifer leaned in closer to her and glared. "I told you the truth. It wasn't my choice."

Quistis returned the glare, and pushed him out of her grip. She crossed her arms and looked out her window through the corners of her eyes. The storm was getting closer. "Why are you here anyways, Seifer?"

Seifer looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean...why am I in your dorm?"

"No. I want to know why you're on this fucking Earth, why your parents decided to bring you into this world. Hyne, of COURSE I want to know why you're in my dorm!!" Quistis kept her tone barely below yelling, for sanity's sake.

Seifer shivered with her sudden severity, surprised that such a gentle creature could deliver such harsh words. Sure, she had gotten angry with him before, but she was never like this. "Well..." he cleared his throat. "I was hoping that...um...since you did such a great job with Squall and the others, you could instruct Fujin and Raijin."

"Oh?" Quistis narrowed her eyes and cocked an eyebrow.

"I WAS going to ask that you instruct me as well, but that's obviously out of the question now. I can tell you hate me, so I'll just ask about Fujin and Raijin. I want to help fix things that happened in the past, you know, so I want them to get a good start on life again."

"Well, Seifer," Quistis lowered her arms back down to her sides, her hands resting on her hips, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I lost my instructor's license. I could probably get it back again because of Ultimecia's defeat, but I have no desire to teach anymore."

"Bullshit." Seifer spat angerly. "You and I both know that you love to instruct. Quit lying to yourself."

"DON'T even BEGIN to think you understand me, Seifer! Because you DON'T!! No one does! I gave up being an instructor so that I wouldn't have to deal with people like you anymore! I'd rather be stuck for the rest of my life as a SeeD than waste my time on another student like you!"

__

Harsh words, Seifer thought to himself. "Look, Instruct--"

"Quistis. I have a name, Seifer."

"Quistis then. Look. I know what I did in the past was horrible. I realize that now. I just wish I would have realized it earlier. If I had, then everyone would not be so mad at me. Hell, I'd probably be downstairs, being hailed as a hero! If I would have passed that test in Dollet to become a SeeD, I may very well have been fighting alongside yourself!"

"But instead, you became the Sorceress' Lap Dog. We're all so proud of you."

"Quistis, I.." Seifer let out a heavy sigh, and his features softened. "I'm sorry. About everything. I know you won't forgive me, but I can't let this go on forever. I'm sorry, okay?"

Quistis maintained her cold stare. "Well...it's a start, I guess."

The sides of Seifer's mouth perked up slightly, obviously trying to mask a smile. "So...so you accept my apology?"

Quistis shrugged. "I guess. I can't stay mad at you forever. Or maybe this is my fatigue talking, who knows? But, may I offer some advice to you?"

Seifer nodded curiously. "Sure."

"You may not want to come close to Squall and Rinoa. They're kinda pissed at you for throwing her to Adel. Rinoa's said more than once since then that the next time she sees you, she'll claw your eyes out. And Squall...he doesn't say too much, but whenever someone mentions your name, his eyes get dark and you can sense his anger grow."

"Hm. Thanks for the warning." Seifer turned to leave. "Maybe I'll see you around?"

Quistis shifted her weight and nodded, "Yeah, maybe you will. Now where are you going? To get something to eat?"

Seifer chuckled. "Naw. I'm going to apologize to Rinoa."

Quistis' eyes widened. "Wha...I just TOLD you that--"

"Jaa matane, Quisty," he waved as he left the room, and closed the door behind him.

Quistis stared at the door with her eyes still wide-open in disbelief. "That guy really doesn't fear anything."

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AuthorNotes:

Sorry that this chapter is so short. I'm having mercy on some people that are printing chapters...I know a few certain fics that are 7 pages long per chapter (at least), so this'll help save your printing time. I know from experience just how badly it sucks when you have to stop printing mid-paragraph. Heh.


	3. "Placing the Blame"

"Please, wait here. I'll go talk to him." Ellone awaited a nod from Ward and Kiros, which she quickly received. She turned, keeping her shawl over her head to shield herself from the light rain, and strode silently up to the tree where the dark, curled-up figure of Squall rested against a tree. She had used her intuition to find him, here, under this tree about a mile from the Presidential Palace of Esthar. She gave herself a silent congratulations when she was close enough to the slumped figure to know, without a doubt, that it was indeed Squall.

Ellone was close enough to hear his breathing now, and realized that he was asleep. She whispered his name to wake him up without startling him, but he did nothing more than roll his head to face the other direction. She shrugged and yelled his name. "SQUALL!!"

"GAAAAH!!" he shot up, and almost took out Ellone when he swung around to face the direction his name was called from.

"EEEK!! Uh, remind me to NEVER do that AGAIN!!" Ellone was breathing heavily now, quite reasonable shaken up by Squall's thrashing so close to her. "So..are you okay? Why did you run off?"

"I'm fine." Squall said indifferently, and brushed some mud from the base of his jacket. "I just wanted to be alone, that's all."

"I see.." Ellone eyed him curiously. "You're soaking wet, you know. We should go back to the Palace so you can cha--"

"No, I think I'll just go back to Garden, thank you."

Ellone shook her head underneath her shawl. "Oh. So now you're avoiding Him."

"No, I just would like to wear my OWN clothes, okay?!" Squall spat, annoyed slightly.

Ellone pulled back a bit, surprised by his tone. "Well, you didn't have to give me a tongue lashing over it." She huffed a bit to emphasize her point. "Mind if we escort you to Ragnarok? We want to make sure you get back safely to your garden."

"Who's 'we'?" Squall looked around, then spotted two figures in the rain nearby. "Them?"

"Yeah. It's just Ward and Kiros. Laguna had me bring them along...for protection."

Squall just looked at her, his face showing no emotion except for his eyes. Ellone noticed this and looked into them. His eyes showed...anger? _Oh, _she thought, _now he's hypersensitive to the name 'Laguna'._

Squall averted her gaze, looking left as he spoke. "Ellone, why didn't you tell me about Him when we were with Matron?"

"I...." she looked down, ashamed suddenly, "...I thought it was best you didn't know. If you did, then you would have grown up hating someone you didn't know, someone you couldn't recognize even if he was standing right in front of you...I thought it was better you grew up without that thought...and you wouldn't have listened to me if I told you it wasn't...your father's fault that he didn't see you."

"How...do you mean..?"

Ellone sighed. She began her tale of the past, as she remembered it...and as Laguna had told her. "Laguna proposed to Raine not too long before he had to go to War. Like you, he was a Soldier...obligated to serve when called forth to do so. They were married...and the next day, Laguna was sent to fight. He was gone for less than a year, and worked when he wasn't fighting to try to get more money for Raine and himself to move into a better house. When he returned to Winhill from war, he found out that Raine became very ill and died after childbirth...a child Laguna didn't even know about! The people of Winhill blamed him for Raine's death, saying that if he hadn't been there, if he hadn't given her a child, she would still be alive. So they further tormented him by denying him the location of his son, and refusing to tell him where they sent me as well. What they also didn't tell him was that they sent you away because you made everyone sad...you reminded them of Raine. They sent you to an orphanage, and I argued and begged until they let me go with you. I loved my Uncle Laguna...and I wanted to make sure you were okay, that you were put into a good home, or at least a decent orphanage--"

"Wait." Squall held out his hand, signaling for her to stop. "So you mean that the people of Winhill are the ones I should be upset with? NOT Laguna?"

"Mmmhmmm," Raine nodded happily. "See, he's not a bad guy...it wasn't his fault at all."

Squall let everything sink in for a moment, then nodded. "I should be heading back now."

"To Esthar?"

"No, to Garden. If you insist upon escorting me, then let's get going. Or else I'll head on out without you three." Squall began walking toward the flat area of land he left Ragnarok at.

"Oh, Squall..." Ellone waved for Ward and Kiros to follow as she kept close in toe with Squall. _Squall, will you ever forgive your father?_

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Quistis went through the opened doors of the elevator, and stepped briskly toward the ballroom party. She decided that she should check on Seifer...just to make sure she wouldn't have to pick him up in pieces after Squall got through with him.

She entered the room. Hundreds of students, SeeDs, Instructors, and guests were still dancing around, talking, eating, drinking, sleeping....everywhere. She noticed Selphie was asleep, propped-up against one of the side walls, while Irvine was sitting next to her, watching the crowd loosely packed into the room. Zell was still eating (_That pig, _she thought), whereas his lady friend, Amie, was asleep in her chair next to him. She decided it was best to talk to Irvine, and ask him if he had seen where Seifer was at, since she did not see him or Rinoa or Squall anywhere.

She walked up to him. Irvine noticed her as she was approaching, and stood to greet her. He removed his hat from his head and said, "'Mornin'! What's wrong, Quisty? Couldn't sleep?"

"Eh, something like that," Quistis replied politely. "You wouldn't happen to know where Seifer is at, do you? He came down here a little bit ago..."

"Oh, yeah! I did see him! He was out on the balcony with Rinoa last I saw him."

"Thanks!" Quistis smiled, and waved to the cowboy as she sprinted toward the balcony.

"No prob!" Irvine called after her.

Quistis first listened closely to try to hear some sound of struggle, but was surprised to hear nothing. _Did they push him off the balcony?_ She leaned her head so it peeked around the entryway, enabling her to see who was out there without being seen herself. _Hm. No Squall. Did he jump OFF the balcony when he saw Seifer? Did Squall think he was a ghost???_

Edea Kramer came up behind Quistis and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, and turned to face her.

"OOOOH, QUISTY!! I'm glad to see you're back down here!!" Edea beamed rather loudly. Seifer and Rinoa turned around and looked at Quistis. Seifer rolled his eyes at her. "I wanted to tell Rinoa that Squall's back. Ragnarok just landed a few moments ago."

"Oh?" Quistis said. "Where did he come back from?"

"Esthar." Edea stated plainly. "He wanted me to tell everyone to leave him alone for a few days, but he wanted to speak to Rinoa right away."

"He...only wants to talk to me?" Rinoa asked, stepping toward Edea.

"And...when you talk to him, Rinoa, please...try to convince him...to.."

Rinoa tilted her head to one side slightly. "To...?"

"To stay here. He's saying he wants to leave Garden. He doesn't want to see anyone else for fear they'll get upset with him. Please, Rinoa, talk some sense into that poor boy..." Edea shook her head, and left the balcony. 

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AuthorNotes:

Forgive me if I messed up a few things with the past here. I'm going from memory of the game...which I completed about six months ago (the flashback parts of discs 1~3 anyways). If anything is wrong, let's just imagine that this chapter is the truth. Because it just...works for the time being. Ee, gomen!! I'm wishing I would have been able to write more, but..you know, family. I wasn't allowed to type because we had people over. Bah to them. I'll make up for the shortness this week, though!


	4. "Angel"

Rinoa ran out of the ballroom, and toward the Dorms. She wondered what made Squall so upset over the past few hours. True, he was called by Headmaster Cid to leave for Esthar very suddenly....but why? Why would he want to leave Garden? It always appeared to her that Garden was the most important thing to Squall...he always talked about how happy it made him to feel important like that, to be a SeeD, to finally fulfill his "childhood dream"...

Why Esthar?

Why right then? Why not later, after the party?

She cut a corner and sprinted the remaining length of the hallway set before her. Rinoa found the correct door, and stopped for a few moments to catch her breath. She then carefully turned the brass doorknob, and entered the room....

...Empty. It was empty.

"Is this...the right room?" Rinoa asked herself, and began to look around the room. True, she had only been to his dorm twice...but she _knew_ this was the right one!! The pile of Timber Maniacs and Weapons Monthly magazines confirmed her suspicions: She did, indeed, have the right room.

"Did he..leave? without me?" Rinoa wondered aloud, "Maybe I just missed him! Maybe he's outside waiting for me--" She turned to leave, but stopped in her tracks when she saw a small white envelope set carefully on his bed. "_Rinoa~_" was written in half-cursive script. She took the envelope into her hands, and sat on the bed. _Just open it, Rinoa, just do it!!_ she ordered herself, and tore open the top of the envelope without a second thought. Inside was paper, folded and tucked into the small package. She slid two fingers into the envelope, and pulled out the papers. Rinoa took a deep breath, and opened the folded pages. She began to read...

"_My Angel, Rinoa,_

Over the past few hours, my life has changed drastically. I can't quite explain...

In brief, I need some time to sort things out. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I will return soon. Perhaps I'll be back in a week, or maybe even a few days. Please don't be upset with me...I just need time for myself right now.

Please tell the others for me. I wanted to tell all of you about my leave in person, but I realized that if I saw their faces, their worried looks, then I would never leave. Matron Edea made me realize this after I told her I was leaving...I think she thought I was leaving for good.....And besides... if I saw your tears, it would shatter my heart. Then I would truly be lost.

Don't tell anyone else this: Tomorrow, when the sun is high in the sky, I'll be there...just like I promised you I would. I can't tell you that I can get through this by myself completely, but I need at least a day to collect my thoughts and feelings. If you're not there by my side, I know it will be even more difficult to get through this. But if you don't want to help me, I understand. I don't want you to feel like you have to do this for me. It's just that you could help me more than the others ever could. You already have, you know.

Please, don't forget. Tomorrow I'll be waiting for you. I'll wait all day if needs be, so don't worry about arriving and seeing me gone, like you're feeling at this moment. I'll be there. I promise.

Loving you always,

Squall"

Rinoa nearly dropped the parchment when she finished the letter. _Be strong..._she told herself. _You'll see him again, you will! Tomorrow! Just go downstairs with a smile, and tell his friends he went on vacation. Yeah, vacation, and that he'll be back soon...._

Rinoa stood, and walked over to Squall's mirror. She examined her face to make sure her eyes were still happy, and gave a feigned smile. It seemed like an honest smile, and she was proud of herself for it. _See, you can be strong! Everything will be fine!_ She smiled even more warmly, a smile full of pride and confidence...

Her eyes fell to the chain that hung delicately around her neck, and the rings laced onto it. The Griever ring that was Squall's...she still had it. Her smile faded to a frown. _Squall...why did you leave me here??_

Rinoa's confidence collapsed, as did her body. She fell to the floor, and began to cry.

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Quistis blinked a few times. "Why...why did he leave?!"

Rinoa looked up from the floor and looked into Quistis' worried face. "He...he said he needed time to gather his thoughts. That he wanted some time alone."

Selphie stepped forward. "Rinoa...will you be okay? I mean...it looks like you've been crying..."

Rinoa took a step back. "I'll...be fine....I....I just....."

"Rinoa?" Irvine stepped forward, and began to say something, but he was too late.

"I just need to be left alone!!" Rinoa cried, and ran back toward the dorms.

"Ri...Rinoa??!!" Seifer called after her, and lunged forward to go after her. He was stopped by Edea.

"Let her go," Edea cooed. "She needs to let her feeling out in private. Right now she's probably feeling rejected, so just let her go."

"What *she* needs is time away from Squall," Zell pointed out. "She's starting to isolate herself from us, just like he used to."

Quistis shook her head. "And you wonder why you don't have a girlfriend, Zell?" she chuckled. "You can't read girls. What she needs now is to be with Him."

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Ellone turned to Laguna. "I...think I'm going to go lay down. I fell kind of sick. I hope that rain didn't make me ill..."

"Go ahead, Ellone. I was thinking about going upstairs myself. This day has certainly been exciting enough. I don't think I can take anymore in one day." Laguna began to push himself out of his chair when his secretary's voice rang out on his desk intercom.

"Mr. President, there's a woman here to see you."

"Who is here? I was just about to retire..."

"She's refusing to tell us, Mr. President. She wants to talk to you right away. She says it's important."

Laguna sighed, and shook his head. "All right, send her in."

"Yes, sir!" the secretary said as the intercom grew silent.

Ellone and Laguna waited for a few moments. "I thought you were going upstairs, Ellone..."

"No, I think I should wait. You never know who this person could be..."

There was a slight knock on the door. Laguna spoke up and told the caller to come in.

The handle turned, and the door opened.

Laguna stood, and waited to see his visitor emerge from the outer hallway.

Ellone's eyes widened.

Laguna gasped.

"Ra....Raine?!"

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AuthorNotes:

GAH it's been over a week since I last wrote...Yes, it's not like many of you expected, huh? *^^* Right now I think this story still sounds boring, and many of you may be confused by the last bit.. *cackle* ..I'll clear things up in the next chapter...slightly.


	5. "Time Distortion"

Squall ran his hand along the smooth surface of the door, and pushed it open. This was where he grew up. Yes, this was the place. The room he shared with the others when they were all so young. This was the place he had called home since childhood, the place where he even first heard about a thing called Garden. He remembered the day Matron was telling her husband about the Man From the Future. He remembered how she whispered to him, and how he vowed to make this Garden business a reality for the sake of saving the world. From that day, Squall promised himself to become a Seed. From Garden. Trained to protect the world and kill the Sorceress. That was all he wanted to do wit his life after Ellone left. He abandoned everything, youth, love, all for the sake of becoming a SeeD. But if Laguna wasn't at war, if Raine hadn't died, or if the people of Winhill welcomed him as their own child...would things be any different? Would he have defeated the Sorceress somehow and save the world...or would someone else have taken his place. Would Seifer have been the victor? Or Quistis? Or would they all have lost without him? If that had happened, then the world, their world, would no longer exist. This place would simply be a space for Ultimecia, where others are non-existent.

Squall placed the only possession he brought along, his gunblade inside its case, on the bed set before him. His hand fell to the silver image of Griever set into the case, and brushed it slightly. Griever. The thing had basically been his symbol over the years. Ellone gave him the ring engraved with its image before she was taken away from him. He had the case, necklace, and pendant custom-made soon after he bought the Gunblade he favored as his weapon. He fell in love with that Gunblade when he first saw it; it's winged-lion engraving near the hilt reminded him of his ring. He then bought the Gunblade and entered the Garden that Cid and Edea made a reality...He worked on the side part-time, and bought the Gunblade case with his first paycheck. Then came the necklace and pentant, both borne from the same mold.

One thing began bothering him at that moment. He forgot about all that Laguna business as a singular thought filled his mind:

__

Why did Ultimecia summon a creature named "Griever" ?

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"I...couldn't bear being alone. I just couldn't let the war take another of my love ones away from me!!"

Laguna just stared at the woman. This could *NOT* be his Raine!

"They came to take Ellone...to test the machine they made. I was still weak from childbirth so I couldn't exactly fight off the men, but I was willing to try if it meant I could save Ellone. Then they mentioned that they were from a lab in Esthar...and I remembered your last letter saying you were stationed in Esthar....Laguna, you hadn't written me for months!! I thought you were dead!!!!"

Laguna turned from her.

Raine noticed she struck a sour chord with him, so she changed her path and continued her story. "But I didn't care...all I know is that I would have a little chance to see you again...so I told them they could take Ellone as long as I went with them. They said it would be a good idea for me to go anyways, since it would relax Ellone to see a familiar face if they had to do further experimenting. I left Squall in the care of neighbors, and left with the men and Ellone. Little did I know how much I was getting myself into..."

Ellone had been busy looking at the ground, away from the two. She felt especially horrible about having to keep this secret from Laguna for so long. But, in fact, she had believed this lie...

"At the lab in Esthar, they took us to the room with their machine. They explained how they were going to use Ellone to send someone back in time, then send them back in time with their machine and ask the person if they experienced the same feeling during both journeys. Ellone proceeded to do as they instructed...but something happened. She couldn't send the person back in time. She said that it was too hard...she didn't want a stranger to see personal memories since the only people she knew were all in Winhill...I talked to her about it, and asked the scientists if I could go back instead. They said it was fine, and warned me of the dangers with the experimental machine...Ellone cried and refused to do it because she didn't want to hurt me. I told her it was okay, and the sooner we got it over with, the sooner we could go home...remember, Ellone?" 

Ellone nodded, and continued to look at the floor. 

"She finally agreed, and said she would send me to the near past, to your past, Laguna, so we could know if you were still alive..." Raine's facial expressions softened, but her tears still fell down her cheeks. "I...I saw you alive, breathing. I was relieved you were all right...and to see you one more time...it was the best feeling in the world! But...the feeling was torn from me when Ellone brought me back. The scientists asked me a series of questions and took their notes...then began to hook me up to their machine. Ellone asked me about you, and I told her you were alive. I barely had time to tell her that if I didn't come back...if the machine faultered...to tell everyone I died. I figured it would be better that way...so you didn't wait for my return, and could start a new life...They turned on the machine, and sent me into the past...to Adel's past. I saw her become a sorceress...and then was brought back. The scientists eagerly asked me what I saw, so I told them. They asked me more questions....and I answered them the best I could. I couldn't, however, tell them the location of Adel or if she was, indeed, the successor to the last sorceress...They said I did well and congratulated themselves on a successful new invention that would change the course of the world...But before they could disconnect me from the machine, I blacked out. I only woke up recently...last night, in fact...and was told that they couldn't disconnect the machine because my brain waves were being fed through it. It sent me somewhere on its own. I don't remember what happened...it seems like yesterday that I saw you thanks to Ellone..." Raine realized that Laguna was still looking away from her. "You...you believe me...don't you?" 

Laguna finally looked at her again. "I....I don't know...." His hands were trembling as he reached forward to grab her hand. He studied it, and turned the ring around her finger. "I just don't know....." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A chill enveloped Squall's body, sending it into a series of subtle tremors. He wanted to know...he *had* to know why Ultimecia summoned a creature named after Ellone's ring!! He gathered his things, and took off toward Esthar in Ragnarok.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AuthorNotes:

The plot thickens....Kyahahahaha...So, how does everyone like the return of Raine? Please R+R if you have the time. I love to hear comments/suggestions!!


	6. "Secrets"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To Candyce and all other Quiefer fans: I hope this makes you happy =D I'll add on, as you can probably guess. This is a start ^_^V   
To Jenny: Thanks for the idea about sloth-pace XD 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rinoa was curled up on Squall's bed, leaning against the corner of the room. She had stopped crying, and was growing even more content with the thought of seeing Squall the next day. Her gaze floated upward, her eyes noticing the perfectly-pressed SeeD uniform hanging from the wall. 

"Now, I remember that uniform," she whispered in the silence of the room. "He wore it at the SeeD ball when we first met...I should be getting one myself since Cid and Edea made me an honorary SeeD." She smiled at the thought of fighting beside her beloved out in the field. "...Field...I have to go there tomorrow, so I may as well rest up." 

She folded back the blankets of his bed, and climbed over them. She then pulled the blankets over herself, turned over, and went to sleep. Her dreams were of a blooming field of flowers... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laguna held onto her tightly, a grip so strong that it almost hurt Raine, but she didn't care. After all that time, waiting, she was finally with the man she loved...Her only worries were about her son who, as Ellone explained, left for a place called Balamb Garden a few minutes earlier. She had just missed him... 

She wondered what he looked like now. Does he look like his father? How tall is he? What does his voice sound like? Does he have a family of his own? Thousands of questions filled her thoughts, but she tried to focus on that moment, that embrace... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where is Ellone?" 

"Um...Mr.Leonhart, Miss Ellone is in the President's office." 

Squall headed in that direction. 

"But you can't go in...the President is having a meeting with--" the secretary pleaded to no avail. 

Squall pushed open the door, and found Laguna holding some woman. Ellone was crying in a chair nearby, but noticed his entry. 

"...Squall? But I thought you..." Ellone spoke quietly. 

"What happened here..?" Squall asked, puzzled. 

"Hmm..?" the woman muttered, then turned around and gasped. "You...you're Squall?" 

Squall's eyes widened when he finally saw the woman's face. The same face he saw when Ellone sent him to the past, just slightly more aged..."Raine?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day was passing by at a sluggish pace. 

_Or perhaps at the pace of a stoned sloth..._ Quistis thought to herself. All her other friends either run off or unaccounted for, she was forced to endure the pain of having to sit next to *him*. She sipped lazily at her drink, giving thanks to heaven and Hyne for the caffeine and alcohol it was created from. Soon, she would be too buzzed to care about anyone else. 

"See, this isn't so bad, now, is it?" Seifer said quietly and gave her a smirk. 

"If you keep talking to me, I think it'll get worse. I thought I told you I wanted to be alone." Quistis took yet another sip of the bubbly blue fluid from the tall, narrow glass in front of her, never once taking her eyes off the ice floating near the rim of the glass. 

"It seems to me like you've wanted to be alone for the past two years, Miss Trepe." 

Quistis stopped drinking or a moment, and set down the glass. "How do you mean?" 

"You know exactly what I mean. After you got your instructor's license, why did you--" 

"Stop, Seifer." Quistis glared at him. "You damn well know why." 

"Yes. Because of rumors. I still don't know why you chose to believe them over me." 

"Because it seemed truthful. You disappeared for two days, as did she, and you both came back to Garden on the same day. And then you had no aliby to cover your ass. What was I *supposed* to think?" 

Seifer began to glare at her. "Well, first off, Fujin would have probably bit it off before I got to touch her..." 

Quistis' eyes widened. 

"...and, secondly, a little known friend of hers, named Raijin, called her and invited us on a fishing trip! Now, I was the only one who could drive back then, so I *had* to go with Fujin!! She was one of my best friends and--" he stopped. 

Quistis relaxed her eyes again. "And, what?" 

Seifer shrugged. "...And I cared about her. I thought it would be fun for all of us to go fishing...I was even asked to bring you along, but I knew you despised the idea. Besides, if word had gotten out beforehand that we were going to be gone in FH for a couple days with someone outside of Garden, we could have gotten expelled! And...I wanted to pick something up for you in Fisherman's Horizon, so I didn't want to tell you where I was going...I guess I kinda screwed things up by trying to *not* screw things up..." 

Quistis blinked. "I'd say." 

Seifer shrugged again. "Well, since I'm actually here with you....I might as well give you this..." He pulled out a shimmering object on a chain, and set it on the table in front of her. "I don't know why I held onto it for all this time, not like I ever had a chance to change things. Maybe I was just hoping for one someday." 

Quistis cocked an eyebrow slightly, and took the object into her hands. It was a small, eliptical form forged from gold. There was a seam running through the center of it, so she opened it gently with shakey hands. 

"I guess you can keep it if you like. To remember better days. Heh..." 

A picture was on each half of the locket. The pictures were the ones they had taken a week before he went to FH in a little Balamb City photo booth. Each picture had both of them in it, one shot of them smiling, giving a "victory" sign, the other of Seifer giving her a kiss on her cheek..."Seifer, I'm.....I......." 

"Don't worry about it, Quistis. It's all in the past now. I'm over it, you know?" He stood up from the table. "Speaking of Fujin and Raijin, I think I should go talk to them. I'll see you around." He waved, and began to walk away. 

Quistis stood up. "WAIT! I....." 

Seifer stopped. "Hmm?" 

"I...I wanted to say that....I..." she felt her face grow warm, and she turned her back to him. "I'm sorry. I...I should have thought things through. I was just...young, and I just got my license and--" 

She felt strong arms around her. "It's okay." 

Her eyes began to tear up. "I...I've been regretting that day ever since. Every day I saw you...I couldn't help but feel...." 

"Quistis...." he turned her around to face him, "...I said it was okay." 

She looked up into his eyes, those eyes she missed so dearly. "...Seifer..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day quickly turned to night in Esthar, as things tend to do on the other side of the world from Balamb. Squall decided to stay the night at the palace and leave in the early morning, telling everyone he had to meet someone very important the next day. True, he could bare to stay a few hours in Esthar the next day and make it there with time to spare, but he reassured everyone that he would return to Esthar afterwards. What Squall didn't tell them was that he was going to go to the Garden in the morning, when it was nearing 10:00 at night in Balamb, to get Rinoa and tell everyone the good news. True, he could have sent a video message earlier that day to tell everyone about Raine, but he was certain they were all asleep from a long night of partying. 

Ellone had retired to her room early that day, complaining of headache and fatigue, thinking it best to isolate herself if it was a virus so she didn't make others sick. 

Laguna had insisted that Raine stay in his room that night, telling her it was for her "own safety" since the room was heavily guarded. Raine knew the truth, though. He was just afraid that she would leave him again. But she didn't want to leave him. She couldn't live without him like that, not again. When she was in that machine, her only thoughts were of her family, especially of her husband... 

Raine inched even closer to the sleeping form of Laguna, and allowed her mind to fall asleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*You act as though you have a choice in the matter* 

_I do have a choice, though..._

*No. You think wrong, girl.* 

_No, I can choose..._

*I made you. So soon you forget that I can break you just as easily...* 

_But I..._

*It's not your loss. Do it.* 

_...you need me to live, you know..._

*And if I chose to end your life, I still win. You have no choice but to do as I say.* 

_...but the choice is still mine..._

*fool...* 

_...I choose not to do this..._

*I thought you cared about him...* 

_..Him..?_

*If you don't do this, it will break him...* 

_But if I do this, it will still break him..._

*Then do it, and keep your life.* 

_But, I...._

*A life taken...* 

_...Hyne..._

*...in return for your own...* 

_...forgive me...._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AuthorNotes:

Okay. And from here on out is where the rating for this story may be changed. Maybe. It was kind of PG-13 for a little bit of language and content, but depending on how I write this....*cackle* ph34r 7h1s s70ry. 


	7. "Rinoa's Gift"

He somehow managed to get out of the palace undetected. He didn't want to see his parents for fear of not wanting to leave that day. He knew she would be sad if he wasn't there to meet her later in the day, so he was off to get her from Garden early. He also wanted to gather up everyone and tell them the wonderful news about Raine. Hell, they might even want to go back with Rinoa and himself to see it with their own eyes! 

He flew Ragnarok into a landing position, and entered the correct information to make it a smooth landing. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Don't you think she would like to eat?" Selphie asked Quistis as they sat down with their food. 

"Well....I don't know. She's been up there all day. It took Edea to tell us she was up there because Squall left...Judging by how she ran off like that, I'd say she's either still crying, or asleep," Quistis replied. "Besides, if she was awake and hungry, she would be back down here by now." 

"Yeah," agreed Irvine. "When that girl has to eat, she eats. Sometimes I think that if my hand was in the path of her fork, she'd bite it off!" 

Selphie and Quistis let out slight chuckles. 

"Still..." Selphie added. "I think I'm going to go check on her. She should at least eat something...she hasn't hardly been down here today for food...." 

"Leave it to Selphie to think of food..." Irvine teased. 

Selphie leered at him, then chuckled. " I'll be right back." 

"Don't want your food to get cold, eh, Sephie?" Irvine joked again, and burst into laughter. 

Selphie rolled her eyes, and ran off in the direction of the dorms. 

A few moments later, Quistis admitted, "...You know...I think I am kind of concerned about Rinoa. She's always so happy...I hope she didn't take Squall's absence too hard. I mean, he'll come back...right?" 

Irvine nodded. "Yeah, he'll come back. He's not the type to abandon people, ya know? Plus he's a SeeD. Duty's one thing I don't think he'd ever leave." 

Seifer nodded, and looked up from the conversation. "Speaking of which, here he comes now.." 

Quistis turned her head. "SQUALL! You're back!" 

"Yeah...." he looked around. "Seifer? What the He....I'll ask later. Now, where's Rinoa?" 

"She's been in your dorm all day since you left," Irvine explained. "Selphie just went up to check on her--" 

"Thanks." Squall ran off toward the dorms. 

"HEY! Wait....." Seifer called after him. "Geez. What's he all in a hurry about?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Squall took a moment to rest, slightly out of breath from his run. Selphie was outside his dorm, to the left of the door, huddled into a tiny ball. "Selphie, is--" 

Selphie looked up. "SQUALL!!!!" She ran to him. "I....I tried to get her to open the door for me, but she wouldn't...it's locked from the inside and I don't have the code for your room, so I couldn't get in to check on her. She didn't even reply..." 

"Rinoa..." He went to his door and knocked. "Rinoa, are you okay? It's me. Please open the door...." 

...No answer. 

Squall quickly punced in the five-digit code for his door, and turned the handle to open it. Rinoa was sound asleep in his bed. He walked over to her, and called her name quietly so as not to wake her suddenly. "Rinoa...wake up...." 

...No response. 

"...Rinoa...?" He brushed his hand along her right cheek. "I'm here......." 

...No warmth. 

He placed his hand over her slightly parted mouth and her nose. 

...No breath. 

He moved his hand to her neck in search for a pulse. 

...No heartbeat. 

His eyes fell to a small crimson circle around a tear in the comforter of his bed over Rinoa's chest. 

Selphie walked into the room. "Is she...okay....Squall?" 

"I...." he slowly pulled back the comforter. Another stain on the sheet, and another tear. Except this stain was slightly larger than the first. 

Squall's vision blackened, and he almost passed out. He regained control of his sight in a moment, and began to pull back the sheet. 

The sheet was slightly stuck to Rinoa's cold, pale skin. It took every ounce of his control to pull of the sheet, and reveal a crimson slit on his beloved's chest. Around her, on the sheet beneath Rinoa, a crimson stain had spread. 

Selphie screamed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_What happened. _

Why would someone do this. 

To her. 

She never hurt anyone. 

Was it someone who didn't understand? 

Maybe a new SeeD who misunderstood their Mission. 

Because Garden was created for the sake of "destroying the sorceress"... 

Squall shuddered again as he sat on the bed in the infirmary. 

_I should have never left her. _

I could have saved her. 

I promised I wouldn't leave her side. 

I was her Knight. 

And now I have no one...am no one... 

Zell entered the room. Squall maintained his constant stare at the wall in front of him. "Man...I don't know what to say..." Zell began nervously. 

_Whoever killed her...killed me..._

His thoughts flashed back to when he was there in his room, holding his Fallen Angel, fighting back the tears that would never fall... 

Zell remained silent for a little while, then spoke again, "Selphie's a wreck. She never stopped crying, so Doctor Kadowaki gave her something to help her sleep. Poor thing...We're all really upset over this, but I can only imagine what you two are going through...I know you're the worse of the two..." 

Squall remained motionless. 

"Man, at least say something! Don't keep everything locked up!" 

Squall closed his eyes, and stood up. 

"Moving. Good. Movement is a start." 

Squall turned toward Zell, and walked toward the door. 

"Um...but walking is bad. Kadowaki doesn't want you going anywhere for a while..." Zell chuckled nervously. 

Squall paused when he was blocked by Zell. He opened his eyes, and glared at Zell with such intensity that it sent a chill down Zell's spine. 

_Figures. I had to be elected the one to check on Squall, and now it looks like he's on warpath mode..._ Zell took a step to the side, afraid of him, if not terrified. You never know what one could do after having such a horrible thing happen. Besides, the look in his eyes was either one of emptiness...or homocidal tendancy....and Zell didn't want to be in his way to find out which look it was for certain. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quistis, Seifer, and Irvine were in the other room of the Infirmary with Selphie. Cid and Edea were speaking to Doctor Kadowaki and a pair of special investigators, trying to relay every detain they knew about everyone's whereabouts, habits, strange behaviors, everything. The investigation team relayed the news, via these two investigators, that there wasn't so much as a shadow of evidence in the room. There was no sign of break-in, no sign of struggle, no fingerprints, no murder weapon, nothing. Only bloody bedding and a corpse was the evidence of a crime. It was, of course, only obvious that Rinoa was killed by stabbing, but the woundand tears in the bedding were too clean for any weapon, and too thin and deep to be made by an ordinary weapon. Even a dagger would have to be razor-sharp to create the wound, but in order for a daggar to cut through bone, it would have to be pointed. The strange thing about the fatal wound is that it went straight through her body, and did not damage a single thread on the sheet under her. 

Edea had to stop the men from explaining the details to her several times so she could absorb all of the information without breaking down. It wasn't simply the fact that someone she knew died, it was that it happened in her Garden. And it could happen again if they didn't catch the guilty culprit soon enough... 

Squall walked past Edea, Cid, and the men (whom had already questioned all who were in the Infirmary while the rest of the team was questioning all of Garden), and into Selphie's room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seifer and Irvine were the only two awake in the room. Irvine was too startled and concerned for Selphie to sleep. Seifer was upset about a dear friend of his being murdered, and couldn't move for fear of Quistis waking up from the sleep she cried herself into. He sighed, and shook his head. The combined weight of her head on his shoulder and the compression of her arms around the same arm made it almost impossible for him to feel his hand. He twitched a finger just to make sure blood was getting to it, and was satisfied when it moved slightly. 

Squall entered the room slowly, and hardly made a sound. Irvine was the first to nitice his entry. He stood, and took a step toward Squall. "Squall...I'm so sorry...." 

Squall flung Irvine out of his way, and grabbed Seifer by the collar of his shirt, lifting the man from the chair and waking Quistis in the process. 

Quistis rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then realized what was going on. She stood, and took to one of Squall's arms that had a grip on Seifer. "SQUALL!!! Let him go!!" 

Squall spoke the first word he had for hours. "YOU." 

Seifer began to sweat. "Me? Wha...I...." 

"WHY did you COME back here? DID YOU DO THIS??!! to HER?!?!" Squall's grip tightened, much to Quistis' dismay. 

"NO, he didn't do it, Squall!! He was with us the whole time!! Let him GO!!" Quistis pried at his fingers, trying to get them open to free Seifer. Irvine was doing the same. Both had no results. 

"DID YOU DO THIS?!?!" Squall repeated. 

"NO!! Why would I EVER hurt her?!" Seifer yelled, the sweat building by the second. 

"Let him go, SQUALL!!" Irvine yelled. 

By this time, they had attracted the attention of everyone in the Infirmary, including a few who had just showed up. 

Squall didn't loosen his grip in the slightest. "You bastard. By Hyne, I'll send you to Hell where you belong!!" He summoned a spell from deep within him. "DEATH!!" 

"SEAL!!!" came a loud yell behind them. There was a bright flash from the direction of the door, and everyone turned to face them. 

"Wha....." Irvine asked. "What the HELL was THAT?!" 

"...Rinoa's gift." Ellone stepped forward. "I...would have gotten here earlier, but I was still unconscious. Rinoa passed her powers onto me before she died. That's how we first found out about her death, but I couldn't tell anyone until I came to...I'm so, so sorry..." 

Squall let go of Seifer and stood there as Ellone wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Squall. I'm so terribly sorry..." 

"Ellone..." Squall looked down at the girl. 

"She...she wanted me to tell you...to not worry about her...that she's okay now....she'll watch over you....I just...feel so horrible about having to accept her powers...I didn't ever want something like that...even my old Gift was too much for me to handle, and now there's this..." 

"Ellone..?" Squall felt her trembling. 

"This....I didn't want to accept them....they're too much for me, Squall...but I couldn't let someone else become a Sorceress...Hyne, it hurts..!" Ellone dropped to the ground. 

Doctor Kadowaki pushed her way forward through the small crowd that was packed into the room. "Look, everyone, please get out of here! there isn't even enough room for her to breathe!" she pleaded as people began to file out of the room. Only Squall, the doctor, the unconscious Selphie, and Ellone remained; the latter of whom was sitting in one of the newly vacated chairs. Kadowaki studied Ellone. "Will you be okay now, dear?" 

"I...." Ellone shook her head, "...I don't..kn-know..." 

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AuthorNotes:

A moderately long chapter this time. Heh...sorry about that. I kind of combined two chapters into one this time. Now that I'm out of school and finals are over with, I can finally write again =D Two chapters in one day isn't bad, ne? Oish...gory details are wonderful to write when someone gets 'iced', but not when it's about someone who you're going to cosplay as (ERK!!). And, sorry about that to all Rinoa fans out there. I don't hate her, it just...had to happen T.T And so the story gets worse, and begins its freefall.... 


	8. "Sleep"

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Now with Selphie Drooling Over Laguna gooiness!! for Jenny ^_~ 

And, no, I'm not trying to turn this into a "Whodunnit"....it's just plot stuff....you know...the stuff...with the plotting and such... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Good, girl...* 

_...shut up..._

*You are good...very good...* 

_..stop it..._

*They'll never find out, will they? Philostines...* 

_...leave me alone!_

*So perfectly played out...* 

_...damn it all...._

*Now I know why I chose you...* 

_...I hope they find out so they can put me out of my misery..._

*Oh, greedy now, aren't we?* 

_I don't think my desires matter anymore. And I don't care about what you want. I just want it all to..._

*I thought I told you before...* 

_I SAID shut up!! I didn't ask for this, so shut the HELL UP!!!_

*...We are one...* 

_I swear to HYNE if you don't shut your damn mouth I'll silence you FOREVER!!_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning. 

It was the morning after Rinoa's murder. Everything was running less than perfectly. All classes were cancelled, students were advised to travel in groups and report any strange activity at once. Headmaster Cid was holding a meeting with the friends and family of Squall concerning the murder. 

"Now, before we begin, I would again like to thank the President of Esthar and his wife for visiting our humble facility, and apologize for having to arrive during such a dark time..." Cid cleared his throat. "The...investigators still have yet to discover any leads. Everyone in Garden has been questioned already, including our guests. So, now we are concluding this was an outside job." 

Squall stared out the window tiredly. He had gotten no sleep that night, and figured he wouldn't get sleep for another day. Or another. Maybe weeks. For he vowed to not rest until he found the monster who killed Rinoa. 

"...And, so, with a possible lawsuit from Callaway, Garden is now pushing the investigators even harder to find the murderer. It's not seeming to help, though, considering there were no clues left behind..." Cid continued. "We would also like to ask Squall to take some time off from Garden, perhaps stay in Esthar, until.." 

Squall glared at the man. "I go nowhere. I won't leave until that guilty bastard turns up. Then I'll kill them with my bare hands..." 

"That's precisely why we want you to have time off, Squall. We understand what you're going through, and how hard--" 

"No one knows how I feel." Squall glared at Cid with that cold, empty stare. 

Laguna shifted his weight in his chair. "I know how you feel. After they told me Raine was--" 

"But she's alive now! Rinoa...she's not coming back. I saw her corpse...Ellone has her powers...she's gone." 

"Unnh..." Edea groaned slightly. "I...still feel ill....I guess that nausea from last night isn't going to go away. I'm...going upstairs for a bit...Sorry..." 

"It's okay, Matron," Selphie smiled slightly. "We all had a rough night." 

Edea nodded, and went through a back passage to her room. 

"Yeah...how are you feeling this mornin', Elle?" Irvine asked her. 

Ellone set down her coffee cup. "I've been better. The fatigue is still here." 

"Are you sure you don't want to go the the Infirmary? Kadowaki is an excellent doctor. She might be able to help you..." Quistis suggested. 

"No, I'll be fine. Besides, everything she tried last night didn't work. It's probably just some virus I'll have to live through." 

Selphie caught herself staring at Laguna, and recovered..."Um, can't I do something, Ellone? I mean, maybe my Full Cure will work!" 

Ellone shook her head. "No, that's okay. It's not that important. Save your magic for another day." She stood, kissed Laguna and Raine on their cheeks. "I think Matron had the right idea. I'm going to take a walk outside to refresh myself...clear my senses." She smiled, waved, and left the room. 

Squall followed her with his eyes, then went back to glaring at no one in particular. _Such is the way of someone in mourning,_ Quistis concluded. _I wonder if I appeared that way to my students after..._ She looked at Seifer with her eyes, not moving her body even an inch. _...after...that day..._ She realized Seifer was looking at her as well, and both snapped their attention back to Cid. 

Squall broke the brief silence. "So...there are absolutely no more details you could possibly tell us about....." his voice trailed. "No leads, no anything? Not even a little hint of how she died, other than the obvious??" 

Cid took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily. "Squall.....I can't release any more information. I was told by the police.." 

"Piss on the police. There has to be something you can tell me." 

Cid hesitated, then signaled for everyone to leave the room, except for Squall. Cid rose, and looked out over the landscape of Balamb Garden. "You know, only relatives are to be informed. I was told because the crime happened here, in Garden, and to one of my SeeDs...under my care. I had a right to know by law..." 

Squall snorted slightly in frustration. _Stop your rambling, old man..._

"Of course, I....wouldn't be breaking any laws...or causing any trouble...if you were to...say...overhear my talking to myself about the case....isn't that right?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sleeping, Squall?" Irvine asked. "You mean, asleep? The whole time?" 

"Yeah...or at least that's what those flunkies concluded. Since there was no sign of a struggle...she must have...been asleep." Squall shook his head. "I...still don't believe someone would actually...." 

Seifer cleared his throat. "Well...." he cleared it again. "..Look at it this way. It happened, and we can't change the fact that she was killed." 

Squall glared at him. "Choose your next words carefully, traitor." 

Seifer began to sweat slightly. 'Well, I'm trying to point out that if she was asleep...then...well...maybe she didn't...uh..." 

Quistis jabbed him in the ribs. "What he's trying to say is that at least she didn't feel any pain. Maybe whoever did it was too quiet to wake her..or maybe she was sleeping really deeply. Either way, she didn't hurt at all." 

Squall closed his eyes and nodded. 

Selphie added, "Or maybe someone used a sleep spell?" 

Irvine swatted her arm. "Selph...why would someone use a sleep spell before killing someone?" 

Selphie thought for a moment. "Well...I guess that way they wouldn't move...right? So it would only take one...hit..." 

"Or maybe they did it so no one would hear them yell for help if they *did* miss..." 

Everyone grew silent. 

As if by cue, a scream was heard, followed by a loud thud. 

People started screaming and yelling for help. 

Squall and Company ran over to the source of the disturbance, and were stopped by a crowd of fleeing students. 

One boy tugged at Squall with tears in his eyes. "Commander Leonhart!! You have to do something!! It's the Headmistress!! She...she...." he pointed toward the deck on the other side of the central elevator column. "She...jumped...She's dead, sir!!!!" The boy shook his head, and ran off as quickly as he could. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AuthorNotes:

Oh, geez..I sense the flames coming...I hate killing off characters so...un-GreekTragidy-ish...I'll have to make up for it soon....Please bare with all the filler crap...I'll try to make the story better in the next chapters. I just felt bad for not writing yesterday T____T 


	9. "Feelings"

"And, with Headmaster Cid on leave...understandably...it was somehow decided that I be in charge of Garden until they find a replacement..." Laguna shrugged. 

"Well, there goes Balamb Garden..." Irvine snickered, then received a swift swat from Selphie. 

"Cut it OUT, Irvy!!" Selphie whispered with fierceness in her tone. 

Irvine shrank down in his chair a bit, and fell silent. 

Quistis held onto Seifer's hand with a death grip. 

Zell boredly kicked at the leg of the table they were sitting at. 

Squall was zoned out. 

Ellone studied Squall with a worried look. 

Raine was sitting next to Laguna with a blank expression on her face. 

Seifer was the next to speak. 

"Erm...Quisty...are you...intentionally trying to make my hand fall off?" 

Quistis looked at him, puzzledly. "Hmm?" 

Seifer pointed at his hand. "You're making my hand hurt. Well...it would be hurting if I could feel it...since it's kinda numb an' all..." 

"Oh..." Quistis let go. "Sorry...I....didn't realize.." 

"S'okay. Is something bothering you? You seem kinda...out of it." He whispered, "Usually I have to beg you to hold my hand." 

Quistis sat up straight and pulled her hand into her lap. "...Well..I'm just...scared." 

Everyone turned to look at Quistis as she said that word. 

Quistis looked around at their faces. "...What? Can you blame me?" 

"It's...not that, Quistis..." Selphie began to grin slightly out of nervousness. "It's just that you've never actually admitted to being scared before, or even shown fear around us!" 

"I have good reason to be scared," Quistis added. "Everyone I know seems to be dying around me, everyone of even some importance to the world. Rinoa was a sorceress, her powers to be eventually passed to Ultimecia, right? And Edea was one of the creators of Garden, and sorceress herself? So am I the only one that's made this connection? Someone's killing the world's sorceresses, and I think Ellone is next." 

Ellone slowly brought her gaze around to Quistis' eyes. She began quietly, "You're not the only one who's been thinking this, Quistis. I've been thinking about it since Rinoa's murder. Why else would someone want to kill her? And then when Edea died..I just knew....." Her eyes welled up with tears. 

Squall, for the first time in a while, showed some form of feelings. He turned to Ellone and put an arm across her shoulders. "It'll be okay, Elle. You know I'll protect you.I won't let what happened to Rinoa happen to anyone else..." 

Ellone flung his arm off her shoulders and stood to addres the room. "No! You all must listen to me now, no matter how much it hurts you! They're killing off sorceresses, one by one, and if I *am* next, then I want you to use me as bait! I want this murderer to be caught, no matter what the cost! Because if the sorceresses keep dying, then their powers will be combined!!" 

"Ellone.." Laguna looked at her sympathetically. "You don't have to.." 

"YES, I DO!! I already have Rinoa's powers coursing through me!! It's almost too much for me to bear!! Whoever kills me...I don't hink they know what they're doing...If there aren't anymore sorceresses in this world, then the powers will eventually be passed onto a normal person...and it will be far too much for them to handle, they won't be able to control their power!! We HAVE to catch this killer, everyone, please!!" Ellone put her hands over her eyes and began to cry. "...please...I don't care what happens to me..we have to..." 

Raine stood and lept toward Ellone, her arms finding their way around the girl. "Ellone, it'll be okay....shhhh...everything will be fine.." 

"No...it won't..." Ellone sobbed "..not until we find the murderer..." 

"..And whoever received Edea's powers. As long as there's another sorceress out there, you may not be the target after all. We just need to start looking.." 

Laguna also went over to Ellone, and tried his best to comfort her in some way. Ellone felt his strong arms around her, and put her head on his chest to continue weeping. She felt for the first time all day as though she weren't alone. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Edea's powers....* 

_No...not now...not here..._

*...these are really something....* 

_I beg you.._

*Rinoa was expendable, but this...this is simply marvelous...everything went according to plan...* 

_Ugh...why are you...why am I so weak..?_

*Because I am becoming stronger. There soon won't be any room here for you. Now all I need is to clean up here...I sense another that I must have.* 

_...Why?_

*Silence, child. Cooperate, and you may find existance in your future. You have been quite useful, after all. I wouldn't have come this far without you...* 

_...Hyne..._

*Don't worry. With Edea's powers, you no longer have to do the dirty work around here. Just let me take over for a moment...it will only take a moment...* 

_...just...please...don't hurt him...you can take the others, but not..._

*Relax. It's not him that I'm after. I know how you feel, and what must be done soon enough so our line doesn't die out..* 

_..what?_

*Now, just relax...it will all be over soon..* 

_..but..................._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Selphie rose from her seat at the long ebony table. She walked slowly towards the small cluster of people, and put her hand on Ellone's shoulder, and whispered something that could not be made out. 

Ellone turned and looked at her, surprised by the presence of another hand. "Sel..Selphie? What's...." 

Selphie tilted her head sideways, and tightened her grip on Ellone's shoulder. "I said: Stay the hell away from Laguna." 

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AuthorNotes:

It'll all be over soon, everyone. I know I haven't been writing, but I've been really busy (with Exponess and all...), plus I kinda had writers' block >_<


	10. "Don't Speak"

"Wha..what's going on?" Laguna asked aloud as Raine hid behind him. 

"Only I can love Laguna, only I care about him!! Everyone else can just STAY AWAY!!" Selphie threw Ellone to the ground. 

Ellone landed roughly on her back. She sat up slowly, and shrank back against the nearest wall. 

Irvine ran over to Selphie. "I don't know where this came from, girlie....maybe the stress of things..." he spoke softly. He placed his hand on her arm. "Now, please, let's go talk about this, okay?" 

Selphie slugged him in the ribs with a fury unfelt by anyone. Her newfound strength sent Irvine flying into a wall, and made him curl up while he tried to catch his breath. 

"I SAID STAY AWAY!! That goes for ALL OF YOU!! I don't want any of you touching him! I KNOW one of you is the killer, so if you stay away from him, he'll live through this!!!!" Selphie picked up a letter opener that had been left on the desk, as if someone put it within her reach. She held the sharp tool up as she walked toward Laguna. "I swear, I will protect you...even at the cost of my own life...." 

By now, everyone was standing up, and debating whether or not to approach Selphie. 

Zell yelled to Squall, "What are we STANDING here for!! We HAVE to do SOMETHING!!" 

"No..." Squall whispered. "Look at her. Did you even see her eyes? That's not Selphie. I mean, it is Selphie, but...something's inside her. She's not doing this by choice." 

"Edea....Edea's power..." Quistis began, "Edea had the power to control people. Or...at least it appeared that way. So...whoever's doing this was given Edea's sorceress powers. It just makes sense now." 

Squall nodded. 

Ellone crawled over to the small group. "So...do you have a plan yet?" 

Squall nodded. "Maybe. But I can't ask it of you. It's too dangerous." 

Ellone shook her head. "After what I said earlier, do you think I wouldn't try, no matter what the cost?" 

Squall looked to the ground solemnly. "I...guess we'll have to try.." 

Selphie inched closer to Laguna. "Please don't hate me, Laguna....I'm only doing this out of love. I don't want you to get hurt..." 

Raince continued to hide behind Laguna, and pulled him slowly toward a door in the back. 

"Please..." Selphie pleaded. 

"So...all I have to do is go back with her, that way I can see who's doing this to Selphie?" 

"Yes.." Squall nodded. 

"O...kay..but...it will be better if I can get ahold of her...since it's not really Selphie, I must direct my powers at the being inside of her..." Ellone went back towards Selphie as she said a silent prayer in her mind. She clamped onto Selphie's shoulder, and began to start the process of taking them back in time. 

Selphie had other things planned. She spun around and forced Ellone to the ground again, but this time she straddled the girl with her legs. 

"I TOLD YOU!!! TO STAY AWAY FROM HIM!!!" 

Selphie held the letter opener over her head momentarily. She swung the blade and plunged it swiftly into Ellone's chest, and brought it back over her head. Time seemed to stop, but the bloody scene continued to move. 

"STAY!!!" 

Another swing forced the blade through bone. She returned the blade over her head. 

"AWAY!!!" 

Another time the blade was forced into her victim, and again she brought it back over her head. 

"FROM--!!!" 

The next swing was well anticipated, but it was haulted by the thunder of a single, well-aimed gunshot. 

Selphie looked down at the hole in her shirt. A red stain began to spread. The girl's face turned white, and she fell backwards. 

Squall ran over to Ellone, and tried to use Curaga spells on her, but to no avain. Her injuries were far too severe. 

Irvine fell to the floor, then threw the gun away from him. He shrunk up against the wall and buried his face in his hands. 

Quistis attempted to heal Selphie with her Curaga spells, but Seifer stopped her. "Quistis...if you cure her, you cure whatever's inside of her." 

Quistis began to cry. "I...I can't let her die...not like this!" 

Selphie began to shake slightly. Quistis brushed her hand through Selphie's hair as the scared, dying girl blinked frantically. "It's okay, Selphie...." she cooed with shakey words. "It's almost over, it's okay. I'm here for you, Selphie..." 

Selphie smiled slightly. For a moment she was still, then her eyes closed. Her body went limp, and Quistis knew she was gone. 

Raine and Laguna ran to Ellone and croutched beside her. Laguna was running a hand through her short black hair, while Raine sat by the bleeding girl, unsure of what to do. Griefstricken, Raine put her hands on her knees and began to cry. "Laguna.....Squ....Squall?" Ellone breathed. Her voice came out in a slight rattle because of the blood that was filling her lungs. 

"No...don't speak. Save your strength." Squall held her hand as his eyes began to fill with tears. 

"I'm going to die...I am...." Ellone glared at Laguna with empty eyes. 

"No you're not. you'll be fine. I won't let you die.." Laguna spoke quietly. 

"But...I want to die. I do...I know that you'll find her. Just like I wanted to happen. I've found her." 

Squall narrowed his eyes through the tears that were building. "Find who? Who did you find??" 

Ellone pointed weakly toward Raine. She narrowed her eyes and smiled. "I found you.....I found...you..." 

Ellone breathed her last breath, and went limp. 

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AuthorNotes:

.............go-me-n. *shiku* I hope that was Greek enough for you, Jenny. 


	11. "Angel II"

Everyone stood, or sat, silently. No one muttered a single word. They were all shocked, as one can well understand, by the event that took place over mere minutes. Selphie killed Ellone. And Irvine killed Selphie. 

Irvine's shakey hand reached for his gun. He used it as a crutch to crawl over to Selphie's pale, lifeless body. He took the fingerless glove off his right hand, and steadied a few fingers well enough to brush a blood-spattered chunk of bangs from over her left eye. 

"Sel...phie..." His hand moved from her left temple to her cheek. He cupped the side of her face in his palm, and took her other cheek in his gloved left palm. "Selphie....forgive me....I had to...I had to do it to save you....I...Hyne, forgive me." He leaned forward to give her a final, parting kiss. "....Even in death...you're so warm..." His eyes teared up as he reached again for his gun. "I..I can't let you get lonely, now, can I, Angel?" He brought the barrel of his gun to his temple. 

"IRVINE, NOOO!!" Quistis screamed, and reached toward the cowboy. She felt like she moved in slow-motion, every millisecond lasting minutes, her movements too slow to stop him. 

Irvine closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger. 

As if the gunshot was a signal, a pale, golden spectre pulled itself from Ellone's body. Attention was removed from Irvine, and directed at this gold aura of what used to be Ellone. It walked, floating more or less, while bobbing lightly from side to side. The aura held everyone's gaze, unblinking, as it walked a short distance toward a figure who had recently resumed hiding behind Laguna. The eyes widened as the aura melted into Raine's body. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_You know you can't win. Even if I must be destroyed, I will triumph over you, you heartless bitch._

*All you humans think alike. Like the ones before you, I will take over your weak mind. You'll disappear. The deal's off.* 

_Yeah, I kind of figured that. I meant what I said, though. You won't win. I refuse to give into you, Adel._

*We'll see about that...* 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raine closed her eyes, and took in the remnants of her victims.... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She recalled this feeling the day they hooked her up to that time-traveling device. She saw her husband alive, through his own eyes, in the very near _future_. He placed someone in a large device, then one of his assumed comerades called out his name, then turned on the device. That was the only way she knew her hisband was alive, and slightly regretted not being able to see him in the flesh. She was only inside for a brief moment, not even being able to tell if it was the past they were in because of how quickly it happened. She then had been sent back to her time. She told the scientists all they wanted to know, but couldn't say if she was sent to the past or the future. She also couldn't tell who the person was that was frozen in the device, so they forced her further into time, and programed an extended stay since it appearantly took time for the machine to work, that way she could determine if it was past or future. Then indeed sent her to the future, but something went wrong inside the machine. Since Ellone's power worked through people she had already met, the machine worked the same way. So she was sent as far into the future as she could go. But with the preset target being a sorceress, the machine sent her to the one who she saw froze's future: Sorceress Adel. 

She was inside Adel for what seemed like an eternity, frozen, and somewhere in space. One day she was released with Adel and returned to the earth. She lived on inside for days more, and felt the fate of Adel at the hands of the SeeDs. The seething pain that flashed through her like liquid fire, the sensation of death filled her. She began to feel herself slipping away, and then it all went dark. She awakened, and found herself back inside the lab. She soon realized that she wasn't the only one sent back to her proper time. She carried with her another consciousness, another life that stayed inside her and invaded her every thought. She fought to maintain her sanity, a neverending battle, and tried to put her life back together after being gone for so long. She decided to start in Esthar because one of the lab workers mentioned "President Loire", and went to the presidential palace in search of her husband. And so began this, her new life. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the fate of one sorceress, two more sorceresses entered her body. Raine took a few moments to regain the use of her body, and stood slowly. 

Everyone around her rose as well. They stared at her in disbelief, with looks of hatred and betrayal in their eyes. 

Raine motioned at Selphie. "That was Edea's handywork." 

Zell spat at her. "Bullshit. She was dead when it occurred, you demon whore!" 

Raine shook her head and motioned toward Squall. "Adel swore with her dying breath that she would have _Her_ power, so fate found a way." 

His fists clinched. He felt almost helpless now, as did everyone, without his Gunblade. Everyone left their weapons back in their rooms, as is law in Garden when visiting the Headmaster's office. And now all they had left was their stored magic, which was obviously useless against someone recently crowned The World's Most Powerful Sorceress To Date. 

"And with Ellone's powers as well, I can travel through time. She wasn't able to since she was too weak, but now my konsciousness can inhabit any being I desire." 

"That...that voice..." Quistis spoke with shaken words. 

"I know you're all angry because of what's transpired. So, please, take out all of your frustrations on me. You kan't let me go on like this forever, kan you?" 

"Damn right we can't let you! We're gonna tear you apart!" Zell screamed, then jumped towards Raine. 

Squall stopped him by holding him back. "That's easy enough for you, Zell, but the rest of us need our weapons!" 

Zell cursed, then stopped struggling. "Man...now, what?!" 

Quistis eyed Irvine's gun. It still had ammunition loaded in it. She inched downward while Raine was preoccupied with Zell's tantrum, picked it up, and fired a shot at Raine. 

Raine sensed this coming somehow, and set up a reflect spell in an instant. The bullet reflected back at Quistis with lethal velocity. 

Quistis covered her eyes, certain that she had sealed her own fate when she heard the ricochet of the bullet off Raine's barrier. The bullet never came. 

She opened her eyes, and saw Seifer in front of her. Quistis screamed his name as he hunched over in front of her. Seifer groaned in pain, but fought it to reassure Quistis. "No, it's just in my shoulderblade. I'll be fine." 

"Hyne, you're lucky..." Quistis commented through half-tears. 

Seifer snickered as he positioned himself against a wall. "I just hope that luck doesn't run out really fast...this doesn't look good. Not good at all...if only we had our weapons..." 

Laguna turned to Raine with tears in his eyes. "You...you betrayed me. You betrayed us all....How could you? I don't even know if you ever were Raine. Raine would never betray her friends, let alone FAMILY!!" 

Raine spoke monotonously. "Hyne, Laguna....Please...I kan't hold back too much longer....she's...still...trying..." She shrank to her knees in obvious pain. She released a scream of agony, and began to tremble. She looked up at him pleadingly, with tears flowing down her cheeks. "I...I want to die...Laguna...but....I can't let them...I...want you...to....Please....La...gu...na..." She closed her eyes, and bowed low to the ground until her head touched it. "...Please.....before she...takes over..." 

Laguna recognized a change in her voice. It sounded like his Raine. The Raine from his past that he loved, the one he thought came back to him... 

His thoughts were clouded as another voice entered his mind. _Laguna..._ it called out to him. _Let me show you...only for a moment..._

"Do you think it's from all the power inside her?" Zell asked, pointing to the now weak-looking sorceress. 

"Zell, go get our weapons and alert the staff. Tell them that we have a new sorceress to destroy." 

Zell looked at him with pleading eyes, "But--" 

"GO!!!" Squall yelled, turned, and pointed towards the door. He watched as Zell ran away, and turned back to find Quistis preoccupied with Seifer's wound while Laguna was laying, passed out, on the floor. Raine also seemed asleep, but he knew it couldn't be true. He approached the two bodies, and was thrown backwards by some unseen power. Not a moment later, the two began to stir. Raine continued her moans of pain, and Laguna....put his arms around her? 

"NO, LAGUNA!! Are you INSANE?? How can you forget what she's done?! Are you under some SPELL???!!!!" 

Laguna shook his head, and muttered a sleep spell under his breath. "It wasn't her. I saw what happened. Adel is inside her, like she tried to explain, and was making her do all this without her allowing it. Adel has been taking over Raine's body, murdering the sorceresses, and trying to take their powers. Raine told me...she said that Adel wanted the powers to become the only sorceress in the world. She's not too far from that goal, but there is one weak sorceress that stands in her way. Adel hasn't found her yet, and because of that, Raine doesn't want to let her win. I told her that death wasn't the way to save everyone, that if she dies, another sorceress would be lurking about." He picked up the limp body of Raine. "So, I told her that I would keep her asleep until we froze her in Esthar at the Sorceress Memorial. So get Ragnarok ready." 

The three in the room stared at him with blank expressions on their faces. Squall shook his head in anger. "But...what if it doesn't work?! What if Raine...Adel takes over Raine again while we're in the air??!!" 

Laguna walked towards the door. "I'll accept full responsibility. Please, let's hurry. I only have so many stored sleep spells to cast..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AuthorNotes:   
Well, another Bright-And-Cheery chapter. Damn, that was hella depressing!! This whole fic is depressing!! I think I should orchestrate some sort of Lemony Goodness in my next fic. Yesh. Lemon. Any requests? Like, FF7/FF8/FY/Evangelion/maybe Outlaw Star...I can handle. Anything else...I'm not so sure about. Just request a Lemon via review, and I'll see what I can do (shounen ai...I kind of frown upon when I write it...but I'll definately consider if I get an idea...). I'm dying to write a lemon. I haven't written a damn one yet, and I'm DYING here!! The "In Your Eyes" fic started in my mind as a lemon, but...it didn't even come close to turning out that way. 


	12. [Epilogue] "Forgiveness"

Sadness. 

Sadness was all he could feel in his heart. Sadness for the innocents whose lives were lost. Sadness for those left behind to suffer. 

And suffer he would. 

The feeling of being given a gift, only to find it is to be taken away in another instant, is perhaps the worst feeling in the world. And being left there, his love taken away from him once again, he knew he may not be able to bear it. He knew his loss would not be as great as the others that had transgressed most unhappily, but...for him, it still hurt just as badly, if not moreso. 

He checked, and checked again the restraints on his fallen love, a task more painful than deat. At least in the balmy darkness of death there was forgiveness. But for this task, his heart was elsewhere. Yes, yes, he could forgive her. Hyne, he could have forgiven her for anything more severe! He knew this was not her doing. Forced. She was Adel's slave, and for this, she surrendered and sacrificed herself for the sake of so many. 

Laguna recalled the feelings of mere minutes ago. The feelings of being present in some other place with Raine: seeing what she saw, sensing as she had the cruelties forced upon her. But no, she refused his pity. All she asked for was his forgiveness, a simple thing, to give her at least one happiness. Despite what his mind screamed over the cries of his heart, he knew...he knew he could forgive her... 

...But still...he couldn't allow her to be free. He couldn't let the demon inside her take over ever again, even at the cost of his love. 

He hated himself for this, but he knew he had no choice. 

Another check of the restraints. 

Laguna whispered the sweet words of Esuna, and watched as Raine's eyes slowly fluttered into consciousness. He could sense she felt the same uneasiness about this strange parting, but he kept reminding himself about the evil that would one day consume her if he were to give into these feelings of turning back. He knew that the welfare of everyone else was so entirely more important than his own, and he would sacrifice his own life for that. 

But he wasn't giving Life. 

He was giving up hope. 

As Laguna had held Raine so tightly in his arms while aboard the Ragnarok, he held a small flame of hope inside his heart that one day he would be able to emancipate her from captivity. But until that day, this single act would keep her safe. Safe, so far away from him. But he slowly also began to realize that Raine's powers...the untamed powers of Adel...would grow and multiply as they became more accustomed to their New Home. The risk of freeing his angel from her cage would soon be too much to chance. She would stay there, alone, until some other power would free her. 

Or perhaps the stupidity of a madman. 

He stared into her beautiful, clear eyes as though it was their first meeting. The emotion flowing through the both of them so hot, so intense. A thousand words passed between them without so much as a sound. He was thankful for this silence, though, for he knew that all she would have to do is ask. Ask for him to not leave her. And he would oblidge without a second thought. The people of Esthar didn't need him. Even his own son didn't need him. He feared being left behind by the one person who understood him. He already witnessed what happened after Rinoa... 

"It's time..." a solemn voice echoed down the floodlit hallway. 

"I...I know..." Laguna replied, taking advantage of his last moments with Raine. 

He kissed her sweetly, and could taste the salty tears on her lips. Tears that weren't her own. 

They pulled him away from that cold place he immediately cursed with hatred. Laguna couldn't even bare to look at her one more time. He instead kept the burning image of her eyes fresh in his mind as he ran out of the Memorial as quickly as he possibly could. 

They told him that she was silent during the process, but her last word was his name. She said it over and over again, as if she were in a trance-like state, his very name her mantra prayer. 

A prayer for forgiveness. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AuthorNotes:   
My God, I'm so sorry about this entire story. Perhaps if I could write better, it wouldn't have turned out so horribly in the end. I didn't plan on it being this way, but being as spontaneous as I am, I just went with whatever sounded good in my mind. I may later go back and write a second version (with an alternate ending and plot >.>), but that won't be for a while. A sequel is extremely doubtful, but if interest is shown, I'll consider it, and plan for it. It's just that I'm used to sequels being horrible...and mostly involving characters no one's ever heard of (fandom..yay...)...and usually ending with everyone being old and with kids. Well, as you can see, there's like hardly anything left to recover from the remains of this cast (*shiku-shiku*), so I'm not worried about sequels as of yet. Do, however, look for more fics as I write them (they won't be so morbid, hopefully, but...I'll have my days *^^*), and a sort of original novel I'm working on :D Thanks for keeping with me throughout this story, and...try to not hate me too much ;_; I'm just as saddened as most others by this, if not more (hey I WAS Rinoa at AX2k1!!!). Thanks again for being a Trooper, for reviewing, and to read one of my longest site-exclusive fics ever!   
~*Cynthia Hall 


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